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Milei calls for F1 to return to Argentina / Photo: © AFP/File
Milei calls for F1 to return to Argentina
Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday appealed to the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for Formula One to return to Argentina after nearly 30 years away.
"The Argentine passion for racing is timeless... We have the tradition. We have the drivers. And now we are once again developing the institutional seriousness" required to host F1 races, Milei said during the FIA's American Congress, which is being held in Buenos Aires.
The last Argentine Grand Prix was held in 1998 in Buenos Aires, where some 20 F1 Grand Prix races had been held since the 1950s.
The country has a strong tradition in motorsports, with Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio winning five world championships between 1951 and 1957.
Argentina's enduring passion for F1 was evident last April, when the young Argentine Alpine driver Franco Colapinto drew a crowd of nearly half-a-million people, according to organizers, during an exhibition race on a 4-kilometer circuit laid out in the capital.
"We want to see Colapinto (race) in this country," Milei added on Monday.
The Oscar and Juan Galvez Circuit in Buenos Aires, named after two racers from the 1940s and 1950s, is currently undergoing renovations.
The $100 million project includes a new track and new grandstands to accommodate motorcycle Grand Prix races and F1 races, according to city officials.
The renovations are expected to go on until early 2027.
O. Henrique--JDB
